Kemono no Ace
by LawsOfAce
Summary: Leaving his home island Portgas D. Ace ventures to a southern isle seemingly untouched by both marines and pirates. However, as peaceful as this isle may be it hides a dark secret. For every year the townsfolk throw an annual banquet in celebration of the 'beast' being slain over 500 years ago. But what happens when Ace meets this so called 'beast' Cover Image not mine
1. Chapter 1

Portgas D. Ace was nothing if not oblivious. However, now, strolling through the town know as 'Touda' even he knew something was off. Everyone was so…cheery. And not in the good way. And even though he had blatantly made his arrival known (falling asleep on accident while tying his ship to the dock) everyone still gave him a handful of smiles and bucket of greetings. Mildly freaked out Ace's curiosity outweighed the unsettled feeling in his stomach.

"Don't drop that! Please be careful!"

"The Banquets in two hours' hurry mama!"

"We need more meat!"

Oh, and there was also food. Yup food also outweighed the negatives. Ace drooled at the thought of food. His mind so preoccupied he ran into someone.

"Oof!" Suddenly aware of his surroundings he looked around. Did someone just say-?

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to run into you! Gomenasai!" He looked down, a young woman with brown ringlets wearing what he assumed were this 'banquet's' appropriate form of clothing. A long skirt with a slit down both sides to show more leg and a what could only be describes as a scarf covering her breasts hung from her neck.

"Ano, are you alright?" she asked tilting her head up after gathering all the fallen fruits, her headpiece jingles with the movement. Finally snapping out of it Ace answers with a smile of his own,

"Gomenasai it was my fault I shouldn't have been daydreaming. Let me help you with that basket it's the least I can do for you." Gladly accepting his offer of help she walks beside him as they head toward the center of town.

"Thank you! It's hard enough getting all this food to one place so I appreciate the help." She smiles brightly as they continue on their way. He took this opportunity to ask her about the banquet.

"So, what is the purpose of this banquet? From what I understand it's annually and holds a lot of meaning to your people."

She nods in agreement and holds her pointer finger up as though lecturing to a child,

"Yes, exactly. We hold the Kemono no Enkai annually and it's in celebration of the end of the Dark Ages." Dark Ages? Tilting his head in confusion she carries on with her history lesson.

"When this Island was founded the people had many years of good fortune and no hardships, however a hundred years after its founding a great and mighty beast took to making its nest here. It was from then on the beast terrorize the people by eating their livestock, blowing harsh winds so nothing could grow and stealing their children and women," Tears formed in the corner of her eyes but as she opened them-only happiness could be seen as she recited the next part,

"But then one day a powerful warrior came to the island and claimed the beast's head as his. No one had seen anything like him! The battle between beast and warrior raged on for five days, hence why the Kemono no Enkai lasts for five days, and in the end the beast lay dead but not before uttering a final curse saying the treasure still dwelled in the jungle of Touda." Ace had stopped walking, momentarily letting the girl go on ahead.

'If all this is true then there has to be a great treasure waiting to be taken!' he caught up to the girl and set the produce down next to a giant table the length of a building. Once again apologizing he leaves her in search of more information regarding the whereabouts of this so called 'treasure of the beast'.

/

As she trudged through the murky waters of the jungle swamp all creatures made way for her, terrified if they didn't it would lead to their demise. Her gleaming white feathers now filthy from the desolated swamp and yet she couldn't find it in herself to care. She had gone days without food and survived only on rain water. But now, she feared her end was coming. Groaning in pain she noticed that her one of her wings bled. A minor injury compared to her other wing. She didn't need to look to know a bone was protruding from it.

Whimpering she continued towards the nest. But it was too far away, she knew she wouldn't make it. And so, with the last of her energy she made her way to the edge of the swamp and dropped right where the water met the mud and grass.

'Dying surrounded by the filth you are,' She could hear a voice, that sounded like her late mother, say.

'You bring nothing to us but grief and misfortune!' Once again except this time it was her father who badgered her on.

'Leave us and come back when Gol D. Rodger returns from his grave."

On and on the voices shouted and baited her to die. And yet she refused, why? Why didn't she want to give in to the voice's? No one was waiting for her. It wasn't like anyone would miss her if she left this world.

No. She would carry on the will of the beast as did her predecessor. Forcing her legs to lift her body she held her head high as she slowly made her way towards the nest. Unaware of a pair of unbelieving eyes seeing her off.

/

 _Notes: Disclaimer I do not own the anime/manga One Piece nor do I own Kemono no souja Erin. This is_ **NOT** _a crossover I merely use phrase from Kemono no souja Erin (If you haven't seen it I recommend it) and the idea of a beast lord being a devil fruit interests me greatly. This is my first story I've ever written_ _ **and**_ _posted online so please be kind and respectful in the comments. If there are any more questions, please feel free to ask!_


	2. Chapter 2

As tempting as it was to search the entire island for the 'treasure of the beast' his stomach disagreed and so he found himself looking for a place to feast, but since everyone seemed to be readying for the Kemono no Enkai no one was open. Ace's stomach grumbled impatiently as he walked down the bustling streets of Touda. Finally deciding to ask a passerby to spare food their conversation was interrupted by a commotion near the border that separated the jungle from the community. Curious, Ace thanked the man for his time and excused himself heading towards the crowd of people.

"The Beast! The Beast is hundred feet tall and has teeth sharper than a sea king's! It has wings as white as the moon and the head of a wolf!"

When he finally broke his way through the people he saw a boy, out of breath and no older than ten, who seemed to be telling tall tales of the Beast. About to leave Ace was suddenly stopped by a question he also wanted the answer to.

"How would ye know all this child? The Beast is long dead and there has been no record of what it looks like?"

Everyone nodded and voiced their agreement. The boy's eyes became wide in wonder,

"I know because I've seen it! It's in the jungle right now!"

Voices of disapproval and booing began.

"How dare ye make up such stories of our savior not slaying the Beast!"

"Your just a boy!"

"Go back to your mum Ame!"

With a couple more insults thrown at the boy the crowd dissipated and all that was left was the boy and Ace. The boy, Ame, sniffled then angrily kicked at the ground. 'No one believes me! But I know what I saw, and it was the Beast!' He started towards home but was stopped by a voice.

"So, where'd you see this 'beast' kid?"

Ame turned around to see a man with a yellow unbuttoned shirt, shorts, and heavy boots. And to top it all off he wore a hideously orange cowboy hat. With wide eyes the boy immediately began yelling out,

"PERVERT! HE HAS NO SHAME!"

"OI! WAIT! BRAT!"

After chasing the brat around town, catching him, and finally calming him down enough to explain he meant no harm and was NOT a pervert Ace encouraged him to talk about the Beast he saw in the jungle which in turn made the boy ecstatic that someone wanted to hear more of what he saw. Then of course his stomach interrupted their conversation and Ame invited Ace to his house to grab something to eat. Because Ame's mother was busy helping with the festival it was easy to sneak Ace into the humble abode and snatch something from the kitchen.

"So, what were you doing so deep in the jungle kid?" Ace asked after finishing the load of food that was given to him and gulping some freshly squeezed orange juice.

"My name is Ame, Pervert-san!" Ame huffed before answering the pirate's question.

"I was just planning on going into the jungle to bring more flowers for my Papa's grave but wondered too far. Then, I saw it! It was as big as a small building and had feathers that shined in the sunlight!" He looked down trying to recall as many details as he could, "And it didn't have any arms just wings and back legs, but it looked like it was having trouble. Like something attacked it."

When the boy looked up to see the man's reaction though,

"EHHHHHHHHH?! WHY ARE YOU ASLEEP?!"

After waking up the man, he learned was named was Ace, Ame retold him everything he could about the Beast. And waited to see what he would say. For a few minutes, Ace simply sat with a troubled look then he spoke,

"If what you saw was real then this whole festival is for nothing and the villagers have been living a lie for five hundred years. Because of you this could ruin the entire balance of things and throw everything into chaos."

Ame looked like he was about to cry. Ashamed of what he had caused and worried for his island he asked the pirate,

"What do I do Ace-san? I know I can't tell anyone what happened, but I can't just pretend everything's ok!" Everything was silent. The weight of Ame's words hanging in the air. Seemingly unaffected by the scale of the situation at hand Ace simply ruffled Ame's hair.

"Don't worry kid I'll make sure that Beast doesn't come near your island ever again. However, in exchange you've got to tell me how I can find the 'treasure of the beast' ok?"

Ame kicked Ace in the shin. Hard.

"Greedy pirate!" Ace held his shin in pain before explaining himself better.

"What I meant was, if there is a reason why the Beast is still on this island it's because something it wants or loves is still here right? So, if I find the treasure and take it then the Beast will leave you and everyone on this island for good!"

Ame thought about Ace's plan. Then asked,

"But what if it's not the treasure it's here for?" Ace contemplated his words before he finally spoke,

"Then I'll have to take care of the Beast myself then, won't I?" And with that Ame finally told him the truth,

"No one knows where the Beast's treasure is. And it's been that way since our savior supposedly killed the Beast. But I can show you where I last saw the Beast!" With new found energy the boy went into his father's old study and brought out a map of the island of Touda. Drawing what looked like nonsense and scribbles he handed the map to Ace.

"There, now there's no way for you to get lost!" Before Ace could question him another voice interrupted from outside.

"Ame! Come help me with these bags!" Ame's mom was home. Ame shushed Ace and brought him into the study before ungracefully shoving him out the only window and running to the front door to help his mother. Ace landed face first much to his dismay but to his relief he hadn't forgotten the map. And so, dusting himself off he calmly strolled through the busy streets and past buildings until he got to the border of civilization and jungle.

"Treasure here I come."


End file.
